3 tethers iPhone users to two-year plans

By Brett Winterford on Jul 13, 2009 7:02 PM
Filed under Telco/ISP

Mind the fine print when shopping around.

Mobile carrier 3 has announced prices for the iPhone 3G S, separate to that from its merging partner Vodafone.

Its 3 shops will offer the iPhone to buy outright at the same prices as Vodafone; the 32GB iPhone 3G S is $1129 upfront, the 16GB is $929 and the 8GB is $759.

Unlike Optus, 3G S owners on 3 will not pay a monthly fee for tethering, which turns the phone into a mobile modem for data transfer to a laptop.

And on the surface, 3's tethering data rates are more attractive than Optus' and Vodafone's: 500MB of data for $6 a month, 1GB for $10 per month ($19.95 a month with Optus or $24.95 with Vodafone) or 3GB for $20 a month (2GB for $24.99 from Optus).

But 3 used the lure of cheaper rates to draw customers into signing longer, two-year contracts.

A 3 spokesman said customers will be charged $55 if they end the contract early.

He said customers can change to higher-value data tethering plans for free but "if you sign up to a high-level pack and move down packs there [will] be a charge".

Mobile carriers are struggling to lock iPhone users into predictable patterns of use to make a profit on the subsidised devices.

In a survey last week of 248 iTnews readers with iPhones, about 90 percent said they will change providers when their contracts expire and more than a third said tethering costs were the reason.

3 tethers iPhone users to two-year plans

1 comment in this discussion

"You haven't mentioned that the costs you show are EXTRA data, not the data included in the plan. If you look at the plans they are almost identical to those offered by Optus and Vodaphone with ..."

By funkyg

Tags

iphone, 3gs, mobile, tethering, vodafone, telstra, optus

Telstra, Optus, TPG buy $2bn of mobile spectrum

Carriers crank coverage in Sydney train tunnels

Who's really getting burned by Kogan Mobile?

Telcos win reprieve over 4G spectrum payments

Breaking Stories

Freedom Cable yanks Australia from subsea rollout

Optus kicks off TD-LTE network

Syrian hackers compromise FT website

Linfox crunches big data to keep trucks on time

Decoding NetSuite's anti-SAP bravado

Comments: 1

funkyg

Jul 14, 2009 10:27 AM

You haven't mentioned that the costs you show are EXTRA data, not the data included in the plan. If you look at the plans they are almost identical to those offered by Optus and Vodaphone with similar data and slightly cheaper calls (I can't actually confirm this as their call rates are not to be found).

For example $79 cap on 3 gives you 1GB of data with free tethering, $650 'worth' of calls and a free 16GB 3Gs. $79 on Vodaphone gets you 1GB of data with free tethering, $550 'worth' of calls (40c per 30s and 35c connection) and a free 16GB 3Gs. $79 cap (but $10 per month refunded in the form of a short term credit which ends 31st July) on Optus gets you 1GB of data with tethering at $10 (taking price back to $79) $610 'worth' of calls (78c per minute with 35c connection) and a free 16GB 3Gs.

To be honest those are almost identical plans. You might prefer the 30s billing of Vodaphone but there have been reports about network congestion just before the launch which is a worry. On the other hand if your in the city (and don't stray too far) and use mostly data, 3's deal at least prevents any nasty data surprises.

Comments have been disabled for this article.

Ads by Google